Trans-fats linked to irritability and aggression

One of the most disheartening aspects of being about the business of nutrition today is that the majority of the food available in the market place today does not jive with my idea of real, whole food. There is a lot of fake food out there. I’m sure you have heard about trans fats for example. The majority of trans fatty acids in our food come from an industrial process that partially hydrogenates unsaturated fatty acids to stabilize the oil and prolong shelf life, thus starting with an all natural fat as it occurs in nature, and literally de-naturing it by changing the molecular structure. Real food becomes man-made, man-altered, fake food. Inside our human body, our cells really struggle to put unnatural, fake food to any good use! In fact damaged foods cause a multitude of problems.

To make the point, a recent study published online in March of 2012, reports “dietary trans fatty acid intake is associated with irritability and aggression in adults. The investigators found that greater dietary trans fatty acid intake was associated with greater aggression. Furthermore, dietary trans fatty acid intake was a more consistent predictor of aggression than the other aggression predictors evaluated. Even after adjusting the data to account for confounders such as sex, age and ethnicity, the correlation remained significant. The investigators concluded that this study provides the first evidence linking dietary trans fatty acids with behavioral irritability and aggression. “ (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22403632)

These trans fatty acids are also known to be artery clogging fat and the cause of much of our cardiovascular disease today. It is no surprise that heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and obesity ride the top of the charts for the reasons for death in America today. Trans fatty acids are found in margarine and shortening and in fried foods like French fries, fried chicken, donuts and most fast foods, and packaged baked goods. With the popularity and availability of these foods, is it any surprise that we also are finding more children and adults with behavioral issues? Healthy, undamaged, all natural fats, such as butter from grass fed cows, avocado, expeller pressed coconut oil, nuts and olives are good examples of undamaged, natural fats that contribute to good mental health and well being. Eat Well! Live Well!